John Baer

STAFF COLUMNIST

John Baer has written about politics and government for the Daily News since 1987. Neither subject ever fails to provide him with stories of policies and politicians walking on or skirting by paths to perdition.

BE: I usually fall asleep. Wait, was it something about reactions to the shootings being wrong-headed?

JB: Bingo. I said buckle up for a torrent of calls for new laws designed to do what they cannot possibly do -- protect us from random acts of insanity.

BE: And?

JB: Well, now we're getting the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, CeaseFire, a bunch of lawmakers and a New York Timeseditorial today calling for new bans on automatic weapons and high-capacity ammo clips.

BE: Maybe that's a good idea.

JB: Boss, boss. First of all, this happened in Arizona, maybe the most gun-permissive state in the union. No carry permits required. Take your gun to work. Clearly no background checks. And the Times today notes, ironically, even Rep. Giffords has a Glock 9 semi-automatic pistol, the same kind of weapon that nutcase used to gun her down.

BE: But maybe after this, Congress will....

JB: WILL WHAT? Abandon allegiance to the NRA? Are you kidding? It had the chance back in `04 when it failed to renew a ban on such weapons. And it's MORE conservative now than it was then.

BE: Maybe the states can....

JB: Oh, yeah, I'm sure Arizona will step up. And here in "Gunsylvania?" Our legislature's an NRA subsidiary and our incoming Guv supports expanding gun rights and opposes closing the "Florida loophole" that allows gun permits from other states if a person can't get one here.

BE: So, you're saying that...

JB: I'm saying that despite the outcry and the attention, there ain't gonna be no serious new "oh-we-can-save-you" gun laws designed to protect us from that which we cannot be protected -- random acts of insanity.